The need for ever-smaller pumping devices, particularly in the medical field, continues to grow. As a result, the need for increasingly small operational pump components, such as cannulas with integrated flow sensors, is growing as well, challenging the limits of conventional manufacturing processes.
Monitoring and controlling the administration of a drug is critical in any situation. It is particularly crucial in an implanted drug pump, which physicians often cannot closely monitor. The pump must therefore contain sufficient autonomous safeguards to ensure proper dosing and monitoring of the pump's condition and performance. Furthermore, the reservoir of drug is likely to be of limited size and its contents must be monitored to ensure timely refilling or replacement.
Conventional flow-sensor material choices and structural configurations cannot readily be deployed at sufficiently small footprints while accurately measuring low flow rates for many years of implantation, maintaining robust functionality within small implantable devices. Accordingly, there is a need for reliable, biocompatible, and readily manufacturable performing micro-scale check valves and methods for their reproducible manufacture.